Mark started to pant heavily as he dodged trunk after trunk, while the last ones flew quickly against him. Using his sword, he sliced through many of them, but some cheating upon the spell made the sliced trunks and its bits to still attack him. Still, he found himself trying to slice through many as possible. Yet, that proved to be in vain as the trunks didn’t stop, but became quicker the more he sliced.

Soon, he started to feel tired, which was unfortunate for him. Seeing no option, he turned around as tired as he felt and started to run through the forest.

However, an strange sound, like a humming started to sound behind him. Turning his head, he noticed the trunks still floating after him.
“Damned trunks, why won’t you leave me alone!?” He shouted at them desperately. Seeing as he had no choice, he unsheathed his sword, ready to face them again.

Suddenly, the distinctive sound of metal slicing caught his attention. It was as clear as any other sound in the forest. Seeing as he may get help, he started to follow the sound, still being chased by the trunks, which every once in awhile, would be met with his sword.

After some tiring minutes of running and fighting, he finally made it to the source of the sound. To his surprise, a dark blue blur passed in front of him, followed by a rain of sliced trunks and remainings bits. He turned his head to the skies just to reveal the blur to be none other than Luna herself, carrying the second sword and still on her robe.

His thoughts were interrupted as a harsh hit on the back of his head. Turning around, he noticed the trunks still after him.
“Ugh… not again.” He simply sighed as he prepared himself for another fight. Suddenly, that was when he noted the blue magic surrounding them turning into a bright green. To his surprise, the trunks retreated from their chase and instead started to pile on themselves.

Taking that as his cue to run, he turned around and followed Luna.

Meanwhile, Luna kept doing the same actions as before, flying around and slicing through the trunks at almost supersonic speed. For her, it was almost foal-play.

Turning her head down, she noticed the prince resting against a tree, trying to get his breath back. She simply smirked as she started to think that this might have been more than what he could do.

She instantly noticed the trunks in front of her starting to glow a bright green while they plummeted to the ground. Her smirk only grew as she guessed what was next.
“Good one, Tia.” She said as she flew towards the prince.

On the ground, Mark had been running far longer than what he could remember (not that it was that much). Once that he was starting to recover his breath, a harsh crash sounded behind him.

Instantly turning around, he spotted Luna standing again in the middle of a crater, dusting off the dust that dared to get her robe dirty. Once done that, she turned around to see the prince staring at her like if she had made a hole in the ground (which, funnily enough, she just did).
“Whatever is wrong, dear Blue?”
“... You just… made… a hole… in the freaking ground...” Luna turned her head to the ground to inspect better the hole. She simply chuckled at that.
“That we did.”

The prince’s eye twitched in slight shock at the princess seemingly non charing answer. Somehow, it only increased the slight respect (almost fear) for her.

Suddenly, his eye stopped twitching, only for the twitching to go straight to his muzzle. His nose instantly started to pick a certain putrid smell.
“Agh! What the hell is that smell!?”
“That, my dear Blue, is the smell of a Timberwolf.”
“A timberwhat?”

Before Luna could answer properly, a loud roar sounded from a deep part of the forest. While Mark turned around while getting on guard, Luna merely turned her head, grinning. After a few moments, two Timberwolves crawled out of the shadows.

Mark was still getting used to the idea of magical beings living on that world, but seeing wolves made of wood was simply mind-blowing. He didn’t know to qualify this as cool or simply stupid.

His thoughts were interrupted as the wolves howled loudly to the sky.
“Prepare thyself. Here they come.”

Before Mark had any time to register what she said, the wolves started to sprint towards them, baring their teeth as a cold, soul-piercing glare crossed through their faces. Seeing that glare wasn’t uncommon to Mark: it was the glare of a predator, ready to kill its prey.
“Not today, dude.” Mark thought as he prepared himself, holding his sword tightly. Unconsciously, his eyes started to reflect that very same glare. He remembered when he had to use them all the time on the desert.

Luna wasn’t that unfamiliar with the creatures in front of her. She had never faced them in real life, but they were a very common topic on many ponies’ dreams. However, this was foal-play to her. That was the main reason as for the why she kept that serene look.

After what seemed like an eternity to the both of them, the wolves were finally within the swords’ range. In a swift movement, both blades found their objectives, slicing through them. Both ponies landed a couple feet ahead, with their swords still high in the air.

Luna certainly wasn’t expecting that the prince seemed to be experienced with a sword. Yet, he was using it with almost no exertion. She smirked at the same time she realized this would be a lot easier.

Meanwhile, Mark’s suspicion of that Blueblood jerk was used to handle a sword became true as he found himself aware of what had just happened. Almost with no experience at all, he sliced through a freakin’ wolf made of wood.

As he turned his head towards Luna, he took notice of her smirk.
“What is it?” He asked curiously.

Before Luna could answer, the fallen trunks behind them started to shine again. Mark turned around to notice the trunks starting to reassemble again, but this time on a different form. A much bigger different form.

Mark stared in awe while Luna looked almost bored as the trunks finally finished building a timberwolf almost two times bigger than the last ones. Once the head finally became completed, its green piercing eyes focused on the two ponies standing in front of them. With a newfound rage, it let out a powerful roar.

Mark instantly got his sword ready to fight, while he analyzed it to find any flaws on it. However, he stopped as he noticed Luna’s hand telling him to stop.
“Let me handle this, dear Blue.” Luna said as her sword was engulfed in her blue aura, instantly levitating at her side.

Leaving only dust behind her, Luna flew quickly against her enemy. Upon seeing this, the timberwolf lifted one of his claws, ready to hit her.

As Luna focused all her mind on one single strike against the enemy, she flew faster, ready to deliver a finishing blow. That was until a sharp pain coursed through her head, making her to instantly lose her focus.

As she regained it, the claw of the timberwolf was too close for her to do anything. With a loud hit, she was sent flying to the depths of the forest.
“LUNA!!!” Mark yelled as he turned around, ready to follow her. However, another roar from the timberwolf caught his attention as it started to run towards him. Seeing as he had no choice, he got ready to fight.

Meanwhile, on another part of the forest, Luna was recovering from the hit she received. However, it wasn’t the hit, the fact that Blueblood was out there defending himself or the fact that there was a ringing pain on her head what bothered her.
“What’s this?” She asked to herself as she pondered about the cause of her pain. She couldn’t be sick. She had been following the rather strict diet her personal doctor had advised to her. She had been sleeping well, and she hadn’t had nightmares on a very long-
“Wait a minute…”

Her eyes started to open wider and wider as her memory gave her the rememberings she never wanted to see again. Some of them about a certain pony she hated and feared with all her might. As her eyes drifted to the woods in front of her, a pair of eyes shone in the depths of the forest. Two cat-like eyes glared at her while a cruel laugh echoed on the forest.
“... Oh, no.”

Mark dodged as fast as he could the claws of the timberwolf, barely avoiding some of his slashes. While doing so, he also tried to slash with his sword at the beast, sometimes hitting it and sometimes missing.

It was when the beast tried to crush him beneath one of his massive paws when Mark realized he already had enough of him.
“That’s it!” He said as he raised his sword once more and ran towards the beast. The timberwolf roared once again as it also charged against the prince.

When the monster raised its claw once again trying to strike the prince, the prince threw his sword to the front, instantly cutting the paw of the monster. Yelping in pain, the monster staggered back, tripping over its missing leg. Once the monster realized what had happened, it lifted its eyes just in time to see the prince jumping towards him with a fist raised high.

Not having time to react, the punch collided with the monster’s face. Much to Mark’s surprise, the monster’s face broke, sending pieces of lumber everywhere while the rest of the monster also broke away. Mark landed on his hooves over the wooden mess that once was a huge monster. Seeing what he had achieved, he raised his hand in triumph… which was interrupted by a sharp pain on his hand.
“AAARRRGGHHHHH!!!” Instead of a victorious shout, a pained one was heard in the forest. All in all, his hand was fine, but what can someone expect when you hit a bunch of wood bare-handed?

Mark clutched his hand in pain as he tried to ease the pain coursing through it. Giving it a small massage, he looked around, impressed at his own “job”. As his eyes traveled through the ground, he located his sword, resting on the ground along with the remnants of the beast’s claw. However, that didn’t caught his attention, but the second sword laying on the ground a couple feet away.

Almost instantly, he remembered Luna flying away in the forest. Forgetting about his pain for now, he sheathed his own sword while taking the second one on his other hand. He lifted his eyes to the sky, trying to locate the exact direction in which Luna was sent flying. After a couple of seconds of inspecting it, he finally found the way.

Not wasting a minute, he set out to try and make sure Luna was alright.

After half an hour of searching, Mark stopped in the middle of the road, panting heavily. Yes, granted. He was in very good shape, but one can only run for some time before getting tired. More So, he had beaten to death (literally!) a huge wooden wolf. Even when that seemed and sounded weird for him, it had really happened!

Still immersed on his thoughts, he suddenly heard steps in the distance. They started to get closer at every second that passed. Fearing the worse, he lifted the sword on one hand while the other unsheathed the other sword. Getting ready to fight, he got in a fighting stance.

The steps grew closer and closer, louder and louder while a slight wind blew up. Just like a lightning in a dark night, the being running through the forest got out of the trees, hitting him in the process.
“GAH!” Mark shouted as he rolled to the ground along with whatever hit him.

After grunting in pain for a while, he opened his eyes. Blood almost spilled out of his nose as he gazed upon the cleavage formed by a very tiny armor hugging a curvaceous body. Yet, instead of spilling out, his blood froze as he lifted his eyes to find those of Princess Luna staring at him. Yet, something seemed different about her.
“Blue! Get up!” Princess Luna said with a different voice.

As he got up, he glanced at her, finally realizing the changes upon her. Her fur had become slightly paler than her past self, while her mane no longer showed the night sky. Instead, it seemed like that of a more normal mane. And he definitely could see why she was wearing that robe before. She had an “armor”, if one could call an armor something that resembled more a bikini swimsuit.
“WHAT THE HELL!?” Mark shouted almost too loudly for her.
“Agh! Caeruleo, shut up! What’s troubling you?”
“Is that an armor to you?”
“Why, of course, Caeruleo. It only protects what is more important to us.”

Mark’s eye twitched as he thought about what she said. Suddenly, Luna’s ears perked up as she turned frantically everywhere with a look of fear.
“Luna, you okay?”
“...” Luna didn’t replied. She simply kept turning her head.

Suddenly, Mark started to hear something, too. It was something resembling an evil laugh. Like those villains from comics did.
“What is that?” Mark said as he turned his head around to try and hear better.
“Hello, handsome.” Replied a dark face behind him.

Mark’s hairs stood up instantly. Yelping, he jumped back a couple feet before standing again in guard. Only then, he allowed himself to see the being in front of him.

It was a mare with black fur which was covered in a blue armor, far more covering than the one Luna had. Yet, the more he observed her, the more he noticed some things, like the fact her tattoo on her butt was very resembling to the one Luna had, while the mane of this mare resembled more to the one Luna had before. Even the style of her mane resembled much to Luna’s.
“What the heck?” Mark asked deeply confused. The black mare walked forward, grinning mischievously.
“Oh, dear. Sorry it wasn’t my intention to scare you.” Luna growled at her as she stood once again in guard. Mark, upon seeing this, offered her a sword, which she eagerly accepted. The black mare merely chuckled at that.
“Oh, Luna. Do you really think that is going to work with us?”
“‘Tis a special weapon that can slay even the darkest nightmare! It shall vanquish you!”
“The darkest nightmare?” Mark asked to himself as he eyed the two of them. Obviously, they knew each other, and by what it seemed, Luna hated that mare.

Mark’s thoughts were interrupted as the mare started to walk quietly towards them.
“You really think you can slay me? After everything that has happened to us...?” Suddenly, the mare opened a pair of wings unseen by Mark. Mark’s senses went into overdrive as he realized that the mare Luna and he were facing was an alicorn, too.
“... Remember, Luna? Our battle with Celestia? The elements of harmony? Our vanishment?” The mare said with a growing anger on her voice. “DO YOU THINK A SIMPLE WEAPON AS A SWORD WILL BE ABLE TO VANQUISH ME!?”

Luna flinched as the voice of the one she feared most raised on level until she was shouting at her. Mark turned his head to look at Luna when he noticed that her hands were shaking, her eyes showed fear and worry while her hooves seemed like if she were about to run.

Instantly bracing himself for whatever might happen to him, he took a step ahead, raising his sword high and putting an arm in front of Luna in a protective stance.

The black mare focused her attention on the third pony, which had been ignored until that moment. Somehow, even on her presence, it seemed like if he didn’t fear her. Who was he? Why wasn’t he afraid of her?
“What do we have here?” She said softly as she flew to the ground in front of him. As she touched the ground, she found the tip of his sword pointing at her. She merely grinned.
“Either you are very brave… or very stupid!” She said as she took the sword in her magic, out of the reach of the prince. Once that he was disarmed, she lunged at him, taking him by the neck.
“Don’t you know who I am, you fool?” She asked with rage on her eyes. Suddenly, she saw something: a scar in the head of the stallion. She used the moment to gaze at the stallion’s memories. What she saw in there surprised her.

While there were indeed memories, some of them were locked out, she assumed, due to a biological reason. Yet, some of the locked ones didn’t even seemed to fit into the stallion’s life. Some of them were about another beings who resembled much to them, but weren’t ponies.

Her eyes opened widely as she saw the memories of his death.

Still surprised as she remembered what Death had told her, she let him go. Mark fell to the ground, coughing and holding his throat. He lifted his eyes to see at the mare who had kneeled in front of him. She reached over with a hand to touch his cheek.
“... It’s you.” She said softly.

Suddenly, the sky started to shine almost to a blinding point. The three of them covered their eyes as the light shone even brighter. From the center of the light, the form of an alicorn became visible while Mark and Luna felt themselves being pulled.

Mark opened his eyes quickly as he felt the hands of both princesses still holding his. As he turned his sight to both princesses, he realized Luna was back to normal, her mane and fur, the very same tone as before. Yet, they both seemed concerned and worried. After thinking about it for a minute, he decided to speak.
“What the hell was that?”

Luna, remembering what Nightmare had said to him, realized that Blueblood didn’t remember anything about four years ago.
“Dear blue… there’s something you must know about me...”
“About us, actually...” Celestia said as she stood up.

Author's Note

Last month, I realized that there is another period I must complete before becoming an engineer as I wanted to. But for that, I need to go to school for another two years. And I have to do another freakin' test! Just to get in to the next grade! And it's this Saturday!
Wish me luck, Guys!

(Here I am, preparing for this!)
Oh, and as always, thanks for taking the time to read this chapter and for showing interest on this. Comments and critics are welcomed, as long as they don't ave anything offensive on them, please.